Frame Runner Evangelion
by Soilder
Summary: The discovery of a new and powerful mineral substance opens a new door for another way to combat the angles.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Evangelion is owned byGainax and ZOE is owned by Konami.

Dr. Akagi Naoko was talking with her daughter as they worked on the new Magi Supercomputer together in the Geofront that would become Tokyo three in a few years. Lately she had been seeing her supervisor Ikari Gendo secretly but if she was honest with herself there was something missing from the relationship. She knew what it was, Gendo was obsessed about his late wife Yui and used Naoko to both further what ever goal he wanted and satisfy his needs. That was the part of her was that of the scientist, the part that was a woman still wanted, hopped, that the man would see her as she saw him. But those thoughts were of another time, now the part of her that was a mother was dominate.

"Misato called," Akagi Ritsuko said. "She'll be in the area for the weekend and wants to hang out, so I'll be leaving soon."

"How is Misato doing with the long distance relationship?" Naoko asked. She had met her daughter's friend while the two were in college. She also met Misato's boyfriend Ryougi Kaji.

"It's not working actually," Ritsuko answered.

"They broke up?" Noako asked. Her daughter nodded and the elder woman sighed. "Too bad they seemed such a good match for each other."

Ritsuko gave her mother a shrug and was about to leave when the PA system spoke up, "Would Dr. Akagi Naoko please pick up outside line three? Would Dr. Akagi Naoko please pick up outside line three?"

"Who would call you here?" Ritsuko asked. "For that matter who could call you here?"

"I guess I'll find out," Naoko said. She picked up a near by phone, "Hello?"

"Naoko," a male voice spoke from the other end.

"Lawrence?" Naoko asked. Ritsuko was now curious. She had heard her mother often speak of a McLain Lawrence over the years. He was her mother's biggest rival in college and continued afterwards. The two had a lot of respect for each other as scientists though Naoko said as a person he always got on her nerves.

"Yes it's me," Noako heard.

"How did you get this number?" Naoko asked. Her old rival should not have access to this number and if did she was never told about it. That or it was a major security breach.

"I'll tell you if you come and meet with me," Lawrence said.

"And why should I do that?" Naoko asked.

"Because your scientific curiosity wants to know why I called you," Lawrence said. "And I have something I want to show you."

Naoko frowned at that. The two scientists knew exactly how to manipulate the other's curiosity as they specialized in the same fields, advanced physics and computer programming. She was the better programmer and he was the better physicist. When the two worked together on a project, and not let their personal feelings get in the way, they accomplished a lot. If he wanted to show her something then it was important in some way. "Alright I'll meet you," Naoko finally conceded. "Where and when?"

"Excellent!" Lawrence replied. "Meet me at the restaurant called East Winds near the residential block in one hour."

"But that means I have to leave…" Her sentence was interrupted by the click of the call ending, "Leave right now," she finished. She glared at the phone for a moment before hanging it up. "Never gives me time to finish my sentences."

"So was that your old rival?" Ritsuko asked after Naoko hung up the phone.

"Yes," Naoko said picking up her things. "He wants to meet me and only gave me an hour to meet him. If I don't get there he'll leave and I have some questions on how he got this number."

"Do you think you should go alone?" Ritsuko asked.

"I'll be fine," Naoko assured her daughter. "Lawrence may be annoying but he is far from dangerous. He probably found the number through a general access line and hacked from there. He was the second best hacker back in school."

"And who was the first?" Ritsuko asked. She did a little hacking herself in college.

"You're looking at her," Naoko replied. She moved to the elevator, "You coming so you can meet with Misato?"

"Oh right, if I'm late Misato is likely to jump the first guy she sees now that Kaji is out of the picture," Ritsuko thought. The phone called had distracted her. Silently she climbed aboard the elevator to leave.

As the door closed a young albino girl came out of the shadows. She watched the elevator door for several seconds wondering what she should do now. She had been told to repeat what her guardian had said to her about the elder Akagi when the Doctor was alone.

An hour later at the restaurant called East Wind Akagi Naoko met her old college headache waiting at a table near the back. "He has the same smug smirk he had back in school when he figured out a problem before I did," Naoko muttered. She sat down and addressed her fellow doctor, "Well I'm here, how did you get the number?"

"I got into the secure lines from the general use systems," Lawrence shrugged. "Not too much trouble for the best hacker from MIT."

"Second best you mean," Naoko smirked as Lawrence bristled. "So what did you want to show me?" The sooner she saw what he wanted to show her the sooner she could get out of here.

Lawrence reached down beside him and pulled out a file folder. "This is what I wanted to show you."

He handed Naoko a few pieces of paper and she began to read it. She knew right off it was a scientific report after seeing countless numbers of them herself over the years, not too mention writing more then she could remember. As she read the report she looked curiously at the graphs that appeared to be energy output readings when she went over the calculations in her head to get the graph results her eyes widened considerably. "Are you serious?" She asked.

"Completely," Lawrence said. "The first sample was found deep in the Andes in a crater from a meteorite that we believed came from Mars. You read the results of the preliminary experiments with that sample and the energy it released."

"What do you plan to do with this mineral?" Naoko asked going over the report a second time.

"The same thing you plan to do with those Evangelions you and GEHIRN are working on," Lawrence said.

Naoko froze for a second. While the organization GEHIRN was probably known to a scientist like Lawrence the Evangelions should have been only known to a select number of people. "How did you know about the Evangelions?"

"There are organizations in organization in organizations," Lawrence answered. "I'm telling you this much because I want you to come work for us."

"You can't be serious," Naoko said. "There is no way you can build anything that can compete with what's coming."

"Oh yes we can," Lawrence said. "And if you're worried about the AT field," again Naoko was surprised but Lawrence continued on before she could interrupt. "We have already devised a way around it. With the mineral we can produce enough power to neutralize the AT field's phase space. What we need is the best computer programmer on the planet you write the combat program for us. You are the best in the world and the second best physicist in the world. You are the best for this job."

"The Evangelions…" Dr. Akagi began again. She along with everyone else at GEHIRN believed and had been told that the Evangelions were humanity's only hope against the Angles. It was difficult to believe another's word especially after she saw the reports from the Katsuragi Expedition. But she also knew that Lawrence had never lied about his work.

"The Evangelions are a flawed plan at best," Lawrence pressed. "The first one built doesn't even turn on, the second and third have either killed their first pilot or driven them insane."

"How do you know you can do better?" Naoko asked.

"Because we are building them from the ground up," Lawrence said. "We are not using copies of thing we barely understand we are using our own science and ingenuity. And the biggest plus is we won't have to use children to accomplish our goals."

Now Naoko's mind was working against itself. The part of her that was a scientist liked the idea of using something that did not have too many unknowns like the Evangelions did. The part of her that was a woman knew that if she accepted the offer she would be taken away from the man she loved. And finally the part of her that was a mother joined in, the thought of sending children out to fight appalled this part of her mind. Before the scientist and woman aspects overrode this part as the Evangelions were the only method to save humanity and she was in love with the person in charge of the organization. Now however the scientist part and the mother part were in agreement and were overriding the woman part.

"If you're worried about completing the Magi don't be," Lawrence added. "I'm not asking you too stop work on it, I'm just asking you to come when its completed in few months."

"What's the catch?" Naoko asked. There was always a catch in things like this.

"You'll have to disappear for a while I'm afraid," Lawrence answered honestly. "Until the project is completed no one can know about it."

Naoko thought long and hard about the decision. Finally after nearly fifteen minutes of silence she said, "Alright, as soon as the Magi work is complete I'll join you." Then as an after thought she asked, "By the way the report never mentioned the name the mineral substance was given?"

"It is called Metatron," Lawrence replied.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Evangelion is owned byGainax and ZOE is owned by Konami.

A young boy no older than fourteen or fifteen opens his eyes in a world of complete darkness. Not more than a second after he opens his eyes a console if front of activates and a soft green glow fills the darkened space. At his sides he places his hands on orb-like controls and the green lights begin to pulse around him. The overhead lights up and appears to become transparent to the outside. A HUD (Heads Up Display) appears in front of him with three disjointed lines forming a loose triangle appear in the middle. Looking around the boy seeing a middle-aged man and woman seemed to be in a rather heated argument on the catwalk above him. "Idalo," the boy spoke, "Raise the outside volume, please."

"Roger," a disembodied voice replied.

Soon the man and woman's voice came in loud and clear, "…shouldn't be doing this!" the woman argued. "The reason I signed up in the first place was to keep children from having to fight!"

"Don't blame me for that!" the man countered. "Remember it was your bonding program that aloud it to happen!"

"That was an accident!" the woman defended. "The program was corrupted by the power surge it was never meant to be bonded with the mind of a child! The bonding program was designed to just increase the reaction time between the two!" The woman then crossed her arms, "And don't forget, the power surge was a result of your miscalculation in the energy transfer of the Metatron!"

The man bristled for a moment and was about to retort, "Lower the volume please, Idalo."

"That…" the man's argument was cut off as the volume decreased again. The boy sighed knowing that this was the same argument that took place every time he entered the cockpit. The truth was both the man and the woman felt guilty about the accident but were often too proud and stubborn to admit it too the other.

The boy thought about the last year of his life and the drastic and unimaginable changes that took place. It all started with a phone call. He had been preparing dinner for himself at his guardian's house when he heard the phone ring. He waited for a few rings knowing his guardian did not like him answering the phone. After the five rings however he decided to answer the call. When he picked it up he realized his guardian had picked it up just a second before he did. He was about to hang up the phone when a familiar voice came from the other line…

Flash Back

"It's me," the voice said.

"Father?" the young boy thought. "Is he calling to check up on me?"

"I know," his guardian answered. "He's still a burden. If it wasn't for you I would have left him at the station."

"I…I'm just a burden?" the boy asked himself.

"When are you going to pick him up?" his guardian asked.

"I'm not," the boy's father answered. "He is still useless to me. I'll send more money…"

By this point the boy had let go of the phone and placed it on the counter top. "I...I'm still useless to Father? A…and just a burden on my guardian?" Feeling depressed the boy moved back to the stove not even realizing that the meal had been ruined do to his inattention. After several long minutes of silence the made a decision, "I don't want to be a burden for anyone, I should just leave."

Flashback End.

The boy did leave, he ran away just like he did the first time he heard his father say he was useless when he was just a little boy around four or five. That night he packed his SDAT music player, some close and what little money he saved up and left his guardian's home. He boarded a train near his guardian's house and traveled as far as he could. The next two weeks were a blur for the young boy because a mixture of depression, hunger and exhaustion from not staying anywhere for more than a few hours. He did not want to be found and for as long as the boy could remember if he did not want to be found he would not be found.

It was not until he passed out one night and woke up in a strange bed did he start to remember with any clarity. He remembered waking up to three voices outside his room talking about his health…

Flashback

"…appears to be a bit malnourished," a man's voice stated like he was reading it off a piece of paper. "Other than that he appears to be fine. We have him on a IV drip for now replenish him."

"Where did you find him?" another man's voice, this one deeper that held clear authority in it.

"I found him on the road side passed out about three kilometers from the compound," a woman answered. The boy was not aware of it at the time but the woman's voice would grow rather familiar with in the coming months.

"Do we know who he is?" the authoritative voice asked.

"Not yet," the first male voice, whom the boy surmised was a doctor stated. "We just finished the preliminary test now. I was just about to search for a match of his DNA in the database. That should tell us who he is, unless he's just a street kid. Then it'll become a lot more difficult."

"What will we do until then?" the woman asked.

"If we find some ID on him then we'll return him to where he belongs," the authoritative man said. "If we don't then we'll set him up in an orphanage." There was a pause for moment before he continued, "After he gets better that is."

The boy then heard the three people start to walk off. Because he was still tired he fell back asleep. He awoke again after an unknown amount of time and felt that he was strong once again. "They probably know who I am now and contacted him," the boy thought. "I should leave, I don't want to bother anyone." The boy stood up, though a bit shaky after days of inactivity and searched for something to wear other than hospital clothes. He found a pair of pants and a shirt in his size and put them on. After that he left the room trying to find an exit…

Flashback End.

Now that the boy thought about he was very surprised that security had not caught him when he wondered out of the medical area. True that area was not high security but the fact that no one caught him just showed that security was far from what it should be. That oversight was quickly corrected just a couple of days afterwards…

Flashback

The boy was lost. He must have take nearly a dozen turns in the strange complex and still had run into a person or a sign indicating an exit. The first he was grateful for, if he ran into a person they would make him go back to his medical room and either his father or his guardian would eventually take him back. The second was frustrating, after all how could he get out if he could not find an exit?

Finally he came to a corridor that had a door with bright light coming from underneath it. The boy hoped the light was sunlight and opened it up. When he stepped through doorway and found himself on a catwalk about three or so meters in the air. He was about turn back around when a shout from below startled him, "POWER SURGE IN THE METATRON TRANSFER CONDUITS!" The next thing the boy knew he was falling over the edge of the catwalk.

Flashback End.

The next thing the boy knew he was waking up in hospital room again. This time however they would be sending him anywhere. This was because he fell into the cockpit of the very machine he was sitting in now. At the time he had been told that artificial intelligence of the machine had been activated by the power surge and bonded with him making him the pilot, or as the call it Runner, of the machine. The bond between machine and Runner could not be reversed or changed. That is unless the entire program was whipped clean or the Runner died, neither was an option.

So for the next eleven months the boy was trained how to pilot the machine called an Orbital Frame with an AI designated Idalo. In those eleven months the boy had grown physically and mentally, as it was needed to pilot the Orbital Frame. To be a proper Runner the boy had to be strong enough to survive the G-forces its acceleration produced, and have enough knowledge to run the advanced systems correctly. So day after day the boy worked out and had private tutors in the fields required. The result was he was stronger more physically fit then most people his age and had a college level education in some areas like mathematics, physics, computer and programming while he was almost lacking in others like history literature and the standard foreign language courses taught to his age group.

The boy was brought out of his thoughts by the arrival of a third person, "Idalo increase volume once again."

"Roger," the AI replied.

Outside on the catwalk the third person addressed the first two, "Dr. Akagi, Dr. McClain how are we proceeding?"

"Director," Dr. Akagi greeted. "We will ready for the demonstration as scheduled. Though I am still against this."

"I am aware of your concerns," the Director said. "However until the other Orbital Frames are ready we have little choice."

"At least he won't suffer the pain caused by the neural feed back like in the Evangelions," Lawrence added.

"The demonstration is in three days," the Director said pulling the topic back to his original question. "The driver programs for the sub-weapons need to be installed."

"Most of the sub-weapons have been uploaded already," Naoko said. She was in charge of the all the programs for the Orbital Frame; including the AI. The AIs of the Orbital Frames were nowhere near as complex as the Magi, but then again they did not have to be. The AIs of the Orbital Frames were nothing more than battle computers, their primary learning program centered on battle tactics and analyzing and defeating an enemy. The Magi were designed for battle tactics, strategies, city planning, city governments, utilities, ect. They needed to be much more complex in order to perform their function. "The only sub-weapons that have not been loaded are the Floating Mines, Homing Missiles Decoy, and Zero-Shift. The Floating Mines and Homing Missiles should be loaded by tomorrow. The Decoy and the Zero Shift will not be ready for at least a month I'm afraid. The programs are just too complex to finish before then."

"Understood," the Director said. He then turned to the Orbital Frame, "We will be doing more flight test this evening Shinji."

"Yes Director," the boy now known as Shinji replied from inside the Orbital Frame. A large set of bay doors opened up in front of the Orbital Frame opened up and soon the catwalk rose up so that it was above the Orbital Frame.

As the trio watched the Orbital Frame leave the hanger, Naoko could not help but think about their creation. It terms of looks the Orbital Frames were nowhere near as imposing as the Evas. The Orbital Frames were on average as tall as a three-story house while the Evas were close to a skyscraper. However it was what each where capable of where the important difference resided.

The biggest weakness of the Evas were that the Evas required an external power source, and if separated from its power cable it only had five minutes of run time left; thus the need for massive cable stations in and around Tokyo-3. The Orbital Frames had no such weakness; they had an internal power source, the Metatron that allowed them nearly endless runtimes. Next the Orbital Frames were able to repair themselves, as nearly sixty percent of the Orbital Frames were made of nanites that when damaged would begin repairs automatically. In extreme cases the nanites could be used to replace parts that were too damaged, all that was required was the raw material to be available. The Evas needed several hundred people on repair crews to fix their battle damage.

Then there were the weapons. Most of the Orbital Frames weapons were energy based and grouped into three categories, long range, short range and sub-weapons. The short range was a bladed weapon, in Idolo's case, attached to the right arm that was charged with the Metatron energy allowing it to cut through just about anything. The long range was either a charged shot of plasma energy encased in a filed called a Vector Trap or long streams of plasma energy that could be directed by the battle AI of the Frame with the same Vector Trap. The sub-weapons were additions that made the Orbital Frames incredibly versatile and allowed them to face off against a wide verity of opponents. The Evas could only carry one or two weapons at a time and were usually projectile weapons.

Then came the terms of mobility. Because both resembled a humanoid in structure both were highly maneuverable. The advantage the Orbital Frame had over the Eva was that the Orbital Frame could fly. It incorporated a combination of powerful Ion Thrusters on their backs to provide mobility and an Antigravity Generator to keep them aloft.

Then there was defense. The Orbital Frames had a plasma barrier that could refract and in some cases deflect almost any energy source that hit it. If the barrier was not strong enough or could get passed plasma field then the Orbital Frame was both fast and nimble enough to avoid it, in most cases. The Evas had an AT field that blocked the attacks and armor to reduce the damage incase the AT field failed.

That also brought up how the Orbital Frames were going to defeat an AT field. An AT field was basically a barrier of space folded against itself. A Vector Trap was essentially the same thing with the only difference was that it also could form pockets inside itself allowing for storage. So the Vector Trap was able could neutralize the AT field because they shared similar properties.

"All in all Lawrence was right," Naoko thought. "These are superior to the Evas in every way."

"Alert me if there are any problems," the Director instructed. "Also let me know as soon as the Driver Programs are installed."

"Yes Sir," Naoko replied. Loading the Driver Programs would only take a couple of hours as the programs were already written. All they had to do after that was test them and make the corrections.

After the Director left Lawrence turned to his colleague, "Once the Drivers are loaded you can then try and think of a way of explaining to your daughter where you've been the past ten years." Lawrence flinched at the glare Naoko gave him as a reply. He had just crossed a very sensitive subject with the woman and knew he was going to pay for it later. "I…I think I'll go up to Communications and see h…how Shinji is doing." Naoko did not reply as Lawrence ran out of the Hanger.

After Lawrence left Naoko let out a sigh. "He's right though I will have to think of something to tell her." She then looked in the general direction Idalo took off in, "Of course I'm not the only one." She then sighed again, "I'm getting too old for this."

Several hundred kilometers away in the bowls of the Geofront the Commander of Nerv sat his desk reading over a report for the third time. It said that there was going to be a demonstration like the one for the Jet Alone in three days and Nerv was once again sending Dr. Akagi Ritsuko and Captain to attend. The problem was that unlike this time he had no idea what was coming and neither did SEELE. And if he was honest with himself the Commander of Nerv was very nervous by that fact alone.

This was only one more addition to a disruption in his scenario that he had not anticipated. The first was that Dr. Akagi Naoko had disappeared after she completed the Magi. This was not a big deal because he was planning on using Rei to driver her off. The woman was a brilliant scientist but her usefulness had ended when the Magi was completed. The problem was she had just left and then disappeared without a trace, after two years of searching and no trace of her was found she was presumed dead. It irked him not knowing for sure though; he absolutely hated not knowing all the details. The second was much more detrimental. Another disappearance this one of his son just over a year ago. Like Naoko, Shinji disappeared without a trace and he could not help but think that the two were somehow related. With Shinji's absence he had to fall on his back up plan, using Rei to pilot Unit 01. It worked just like he anticipated it would, Unit 01 reacted just like it was foretold in the Dead Sea Scrolls meaning the scenario was still viable. With the 'new' Third Child now taking up position of the pilot of Unit 00 everything was once again back on track. The scenario he formulated was flexible enough to anticipate such events so overall the loss was negligible at best. Still he just wished he knew more about why his plans did not go as he laid out.

His thoughts then turned back to the third disruption. "They are not sending any details on the design of their machine sighting the possibility of sabotage from the Jet Alone. If Captain Katsuragi had not told what she saw in the reactor then that excuse would not be viable. Good cover but that is all it is. The real question is what will they be using as a power source that allows them to claim such a long run time?" The Commander reread the proposed run time of over two hundred days again. "Does not matter in the end, they won't be able to get past the AT field. Still…" He looked at the document one more time wondering what would happen in the next seventy-two hours.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Evangelion is owned byGainax and ZOE is owned by Konami.

Dr. Akagi Ritsuko and her long time friend Captain Katsuragi Misato once again found themselves in a conference room representing Nerv, as a new private company was about to reveal the latest Anti-Angel weapon. This time they were not at the Old Tokyo or Tokyo-1 ruins. The current location was a bit further to the west, near what used to be Osaka before Second Impact. The pair had an uneasy feeling about what was going to take place here today. Not that anyone could blame them, though each had different reasons. Misato was nervous because of the treat that whatever or better yet whoever had sabotaged the Jet Alone mecha might do the same thing to this weapons platform. The last thing she ever wanted to do was to crawl into another nuclear reactor in case what they were about to see lost control. Ritsuko was nervous because what she was about to see was a complete unknown. Last time she was the one that made the Jet Alone Mecha loose control, but now that was impossible. As up until a month ago no one have ever heard of this company BAHRAM not too mention what ever weapons they were developing. The only piece of information that was revealed about what they developed said that it was also had a humanoid mecha design and the assurance that the power source was not a nuclear reactor. Too many unknowns made her nervous and at the same time curious, she was still a scientist after all.

The door to the conference room opened up and everyone turned to the people that entered. It was not their hosts, however, that came in; the people entering through the door were the representatives from the Jet Alone. They apparently wanted to see who came in claiming they could succeed where the Jet Alone failed. Misato took note that they looked just as nervous as she felt, but also had a look of irritation on their faces. She had to smirk a little at that as she still remembered how arrogant they were the last time she saw them, "At least this BAHRAM has one thing going for them." She figured anyone that could irritate those pompous idiots had to have some good qualities.

Another five minutes went by and the door opened up and a man that seemed to be in his fifties entered the room. "Thank you for coming," the man greeted. "My name is Dr. McClain Lawrence and I shall be briefing you on our machine before the demonstration takes place. If you would all please have a seat then we shall get started." Outside Lawrence was calm and professional, inside he was mad. Naoko was suppose to accompany him for the briefing, but said she had to make some last minute checks on Idalo's programming. He knew she just said that so she would not have to face the extremely awkward run-in with her daughter. "And now I'm stuck facing everyone alone. She knows I have always hated this. If it wasn't for the fact that her daughter was here I would say she did this just to get on my nerves." Actually he understood completely how awkward this was as he ran into his younger brother not more than three weeks ago and was confronted on where he had been the last ten years or so.

When Lawrence introduced himself Ritsuko was surprised. "This is the man that called mother just before she started acting strange and then disappeared. What is he doing here? And did he have anything to do with mother's disappearance?" While Ritsuko never really got along with her mother she still had a lot of unresolved issues that Naoko's disappearance left up in the air. Even now she still had trouble getting to sleep at night sometimes thinking about what could have happened to her mother. "If he knows anything about her disappearance I'm going to make him talk."

Once everyone was seated Lawrence began the presentation. He had to suppress the shiver that went up his spine as soon as he saw Ritsuko's glare. "That's not a good sign," he thought. "I am sure you all wondering what our machine is." He could see various nods from around the room, "Our machine has been dubbed an Orbital Frame and is powered by a mineral substance called Metatron. Before I continue I must insist that you hold all your judgments and questions until after I am finished." A screen behind him activated and a rough schismatic appeared. The schematic was of Idalo and showed its physical dimensions. Lawrence could tell by the confused and in some cases smug looks they were far from impressed. "Just wait until they see it in action," he thought. "This is our prototype Orbital Frame codenamed Idalo. Its capacities and capabilities are…" He the next half hour he listed off the basic abilities of the mecha. He saw various looks around the room shift room confused and smug to intrigue and down right disbelief. When Lawrence was finished with his briefing the first question came from the Jet Alone representatives.

"You don't actually think this toy could stand up against Angel, do you?" the man asked. His Jet Alone was equal in stature and strength to the Evas and they were deemed unfit to combat the Angels because of the mishap. This thing being presented to him now would barely reach the mid point on the shin of an Eva and Jet Alone.

"It is the Orbital Frames relative small size that give them their advantage," Lawrence replied he was expecting this question. "As I said earlier the power output is on par with that Eva and Jet Alone. With the much smaller size the Orbital Frames are much faster and far more maneuverable, not too mention their flight and orbital capabilities." It was explained the name came from the original idea that the machines were concepts for space flight. That idea flew out the window the moment it was realized that a humanoid weapons platform would be most effective in combating the Angles. The humanoid form aloud for both close range fighting and long distance attacks as well, not too mention the ability to quickly equip different types weapons should the need arise.

This opened up Misato for her question, "And just how does it actually fly and enter orbit for that matter? You never gave the specifics on how it accomplishes this." Misato had to agree with that the ability to fly gave these Orbital Frames a severe tactical advantage over the Evas and the Jet Alone. Now she wanted to know how they accomplished the feet.

Lawrence indicated to the back view on the schematics of Idalo still on the screen. "We used a combination of anti-gravity generators and ion drive propulsion to give the Orbital Frames the necessary lift and thrust to achieve flight and a low orbit." Left unsaid was that the Orbital Frames would reach high orbit once the Zero Shift Drivers were installed as it increased the range of the machines significantly.

"What about the mineral substance you mentioned at the beginning?" Ritsuko asked.

"Ah yes, the Metatron." The image on the screen changed focusing on the center chest area. "The details are considered top secret so I can't tell you exactly what it is. However to put it simply the Metatron is non radioactive mineral substance that produces as much power as a small fusion reactor." He was about to continue when his cell phone rang, "One moment please." After a soft conversation through the phone he hung up, "Well it appears they are ready, me telling you about the capabilities of Idalo and seeing them are too different thing entirely." The screen then retracted into the ceiling and the blinds on the window opened up to the outside. Through the window they could see a large robot kneeling to the ground about two hundred meters away.

At the takeoff site Shinji was sitting in Idalo's cockpit listening to last minute instructions from Naoko. "Now Shinji, we'll be showing off the combat effectiveness of Idalo. That means we'll be using live weapons in this demonstration. Remember your training and you will be fine."

"Y…yes Ma'am," Shinji replied.

Naoko knew Shinji was nervous because he only addressed her as 'Ma'am' when he was. Over the past eleven months the two had developed a psudo aunt/nephew kind of relationship. Normally Shinji would address her by her first name but when he was nervous he would revert to his overly polite and timid nature when speaking with her. "Relax Shinji," Naoko instructed with a soft voice. "Let your training take over and listen to Idalo and you'll do fine."

"Yes, Ma'am," Shinji replied. Naoko signed off with a slight sigh. "Are you ready Idalo?"

"Affirmative Shinji," Idalo replied. "Inciting battle sequence." The cockpit came to life as several systems were turned on and the soft green glow brightened significantly.

From the conference room the group of observers watched as the Orbital Frame rose from its kneeling position. The large ion thrusters on its back flared for a brief moment before it streaked into the air. When Idalo was left the range of clear sight the group turned to several small screens that showed it from several different angles. The watched as several small remote controlled aircraft came into view and the blade on Idalo's arm swing into attack position.

Inside the cockpit Shinji's thought stopped worrying about his performance and shifted into what some of the people at BAHRAM called 'combat mode.' It was a mental state that Shinji developed during the course of his training to help him deal with being soldier. This mental state aloud him to focus on the task of battle without outside distractions. The former solders that BAHRAM employed said it was what some snipers would do in order to make kill shots.

As Idalo approached the first target the AI locked on to it and sliced it in two with a downward slash. Without even the slightest pause it burst forward and avoided several bursts of gunfire. Turning around the AI targeted the two remaining remote controlled opponents and Shinji fired plasma bursts from burst from each hand of the Orbital Frame and incinerated them. "Artillery fire detected at 180 degrees low." Idalo warned. Shinji spun the mecha around and through up the plasma shield blocking the ground based attack. Once the smoke cleared Idalo targeted the ground based artillery pieces and Shinji became to charge the plasma sphere. After only a few seconds charge the sphere was launched it at the target. The sphere hit the target and a blast wave was formed taking out four other launchers near by.

Shinji then climbed in altitude and launched another burst plasma streams at the remaining artillery units. "That should be it for the warm up," Shinji thought. "The next stage should be starting soon."

"Multiple targets entering combat range," Idalo warned.

"Speak of the devil," Shinji then burst forward with the blade at the ready for close range attacks. The new targets numbered around a dozen or so and were divided up between VTOLs and jet aircraft. Shinji knew the weakness of the jet aircraft was close range and wanted to take them out first as they could avoid him easier. As he sliced through the first two his predictions proved true as the fighter craft veered off away from him at high speed to gain some distance. This was actually Shinji's plane as it freed up targets for the plasma streams. He fired them off and four of the six VTOLs went down.

"Multiple missiles incoming," Idalo warned once again. "Too numerous for plasma streams and too close for plasma ball."

"Activate sub-weapon Phalanx," Shinji ordered. Idalo complied and the Orbital Frame reached into its Vector Trap and pulled out said weapon. A target lock appeared on the HUD and the weapon opened fire destroying the missile instantly then an instant later another target appeared on another missile and the weapon continued.

In the conference room everyone had to admit the performance so far was impressive. For the Jet Alone people it was like a kick in the teeth at the showing but could only stew in silence. Misato and Ristuko were comparing the performance the machine was showing with a battle that had not taken place all that long ago, namely the battle between the JSSDH and the Third Angel. The results of that battle were remarkably similar with what they were seeing now, in that conventional weapons were having little to no effect on the Orbital Frame. Still the question remained, how was this machine going to neutralize an Angel's AT field.

Their answer came when the Orbital Frame seemed to reached behind itself and pull and weapon out of seemingly nothing and start to open fire on nearly two dozen missiles coming in close range. The short bursts of rapidly firing energy quickly destroyed all the missiles and Idol put the weapon back and continued systematically destroying all the remote controlled targets it was facing. It was Misato that asked the question that was on just about everyone's minds, "Just how the hell did it do that?"

"Only thing I can think of is that the Orbital Frame is capable of producing a 'Sea of Dirac', and storing additional weapons inside," Ritsuko said. After seeing the confused face of Misato she continued her explanation, "It's essentially a point of condensed space, or a better word pocket of space, that is a result of space that has been folded upon itself."

"I could not have said it better myself, though we prefer the name 'Vector Trap', over 'Sea of Dirac'," a new voice said. Said voice caused the two Nerv representatives to freeze in disbelief. The others in the room turned to the new voice and saw a new woman that barred a striking resemblance with Ritsuko enter the room. "Sorry for being late."

"I'll bet you are," Lawrence muttered. Out loud he addressed the room, "Gentlemen, Ladies allow me to introduce the woman that is responsible for the software that controls the Orbital Frame including its AI Idalo, Dr. Akagi Naoko." The room became silent at the introduction as half looked at the new arrival and the other half looked at Ritsuko.

"Mother," Ritsuko whispered. The only one close enough to hear it was Misato but she was too stunned herself to make any comments.

"The Vector Trap, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how we will defeat the barrier the Angles generate called an AT field," Naoko started to explain. "The AT field is a shield formed by phased space that does not allow anything to penetrate. Only a blast in the megaton range or a highly focused positron beam can even affect it. However the AT field can be neutralized by the application of a similar field. The Evas are able to produce their own AT fields which allows them to fight on even ground. The Vector Trap performs a similar function only instead of encasing and protecting the Orbital Frame it stores the sub-weapons and encases the plasma blasts of the main weapons."

"In other words," Misato spoke up. Her tactical mind going to work analyzing the information and applying it to battle scenarios. "The Vector Trap encases the blasts and when it hits the AT field it neutralizes it and the actual plasma blast hits the real target."

"Correct Captain Katsuragi," Lawrence said. "And as the demonstration appears to be over," the ground turned back to the screens noticing that the Orbital Frame had just destroyed the last target, "let us go outside and you can take a closer look."

As the people started to file out Naoko took a glance at her daughter before following the others out. Ritsuko's eyes never left her mother from the moment she entered the room until she left not a second earlier. "Why she here? Why is she working for them? And were has she been?"

"Can't answer that Rits," Misato said to her best friend. Ritsuko jerked out of her trance and looked at the Nerv Director of Operation. "And you wont' get any if you stay here all day."

"Right," Ritsuko agreed. "Come on I'm going to get some answers!" A bit of anger crept into her voice as she left the conference room.

Outside the main group was slowly approaching Idalo as it landed and dropped into a kneeling position to let Shinji out. When the canopy to the cockpit opened the group saw a young teenager in a black and blue suit climb out. To those that knew what they were, the suit looked a lot like a Plug Suit but nowhere near as tight. No one seemed too shocked, though some were surprised, to see that a fourteen year old as the pilot of such an advanced weapon. After all everyone there knew about the pilots of the Evas were all children of the same age. This led many to believe that there was something far more to the these children then they were first lead to believe. One of these people was a certain captain with dark purple hair.

"Everyone I would like you to meet our first pilot, which we call a Runner, Ikari Shinji," Lawrence introduced. Shinji blushed a bit at the attention and gave a short bow in greeting.

"Ikari?" Misato and Ritsuko whispered. Misato looked at her companion and asked, "As in Commander Ikari?"

"I believe so," Ritsuko answered wondering what this could possibly mean. "First Mother reappears working for this BAHRAM company and then the original Third Child? Just what is going on here?"


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Evangelion is owned by Gainax and ZOE is owned by Konami.

In the depths of Cyberspace Ikari Gendo was sitting in with a meeting of the SEELE. They were the organization that ran the world from the shadows, and subsequently funded and supplied Nerv. This was not a scheduled meeting, it was an emergency meeting caused by the sudden emergence of BAHRAM and the successful test of their powerful weapons, the Orbital Frame. The monoliths that represented the thirteen members of SEELE came to discuss and plan this latest development.

"This was not in the scenario!" SEELE 06 gripped. "There was not mention of the 'Voice' in the Dead Sea Scrolls. How can it be powering these Orbital Frames?"

"I do not believe it is the 'Voice,'" SEELE 08 said. "I believe it is just a codename for the power source. The real question is where did BAHRAM come from and how are they getting their funding?"

"I have looked into their history," SEELE 02 spoke up. "But up until they appeared a month before the demonstration of their prototype there were no records."

"They cannot be just a month old," SEELE 03 said. "Dr. Akagi Naoko and Dr. McLain Lawrence's appearance is proof of that. Dr. McLain was asked to join GEHIRN after the Katsuragi Expedition. He turned it down. Then after the Magi Computer was completed ten years ago Dr. Akagi disappeared. That means that BAHRAM has been in operation for at least as long as Second Impact occurred, maybe even longer. And then there is your son being the Pilot or Runner of that machine, how do you explain that Ikari."

"I cannot," Gendo answered. "If you remember he disappeared over a year ago when he ran away. No one had seen him until the demonstration sense then."

"We need more information," SEELE 01 said. "Ikari, you will find out as much information as you can and report back to us."

"I have already taken steps for that," Gendo replied. "The Scenario will be put back on schedule."

"On that subject," SEELE 02 spoke up. "We are sending Unit 02 from the German Branch a head schedule. It will be needed incase BAHRAM proves to be a threat to us. We have all seen the performance of just one of these machines and if they become hostile it could prove a significant hindrance."

"Then we should accurate the production of the other Eva Units as well," SEELE 13 said. "We cannot take any chances that BAHRAM can produce more Orbital Frames. If they do and they prove effective the public will place their faith in them. Especially if the future Runners are not children, the public only accepts our use of children because there has been no other alternative."

"The public is of no consequence," SEELE 10 scoffed.

"I disagree," SEELE 01 said. "We may be able to control most of the information but enough may leak out to the public. And the public demand will force the governments to side with BAHRAM. Regardless of our position and control the governments of the world are run by public opinion. So we shall accelerate our planning, that means that you will as well Ikari. And that includes Dummy Plug System, have it fully operational in two months."

"I understand," Gendo said.

"This meeting is adjourned," SEELE 01 ordered. One by one the monoliths disappeared until only Gendo was visible.

Soon the lights came on in Gendo's Office with Fuyutuski standing behind him. "How did it go?"

"As expected," Gendo answered. "They are worried and that is cause for alarm. They have never been worried; angry yes, concerned yes, but never worried."

A few minutes later the door to the office opened up and Ritsuko walked in. The moment she did Gendo asked, "What have you found out from her?"

"Very little in terms of what BAHRAM is," Ritsuko answered. "Mother is being rather tight lipped in the details. The only thing she said to me was what I already suspected."

"And that is?" Fuyutuski asked.

"That just before the Magi was completed she was recruited by her old college rival/colleague McLain Lawrence," Dr. Akagi answered. "She has been working for them ever since she disappeared with no contact with anyone outside BAHRAM."

"Is there anything else that you wish to report?" Gendo asked.

"Only that it appears Mother is the legal guardian of your son," she replied.

If it were not for his glasses the younger Akagi would have seen his eyes narrow, "Thank you Dr. That will be all." She nodded and left without another word.

"What will you do?" the Sub-Commander asked. "Especially with your son involved with them?" Gendo did not answer and Fuyutuski took it as a sign that he did not know, or at least not entirely, what he would do.

Shinji walked down the street to his knew school. He had just moved to Tokyo-3 and was enrolled in the local middle school. Most of the courses would do him little good considering his education in the last year, but the classes that had been pushed aside in his education would be right around his level. The closer he got the more nervous he became. Even before he ran away from his guardian Shinji had never really fit in with people his own age. And spending a year around nothing but adults with the equivalent of military training did not help much either.

When he came to the school he saw several groups of students gathered in small groups around the courtyard. Out of habit from his training he surveyed the groups taking in details about them. One group was of three girls giggling and pointing at a couple of boys across the yard, it was obvious what they were talking about. A group of boys was making gestures with their hands in the shape of round objects, from their red faces and the fact that they kept glancing around it was clear they were describing a woman one had scene probably in some kind of revealing outfit. All in all, the teenagers were acting just like one would expect of their age group. The only people that caught Shinji's attention was an albino girl sitting under a tree by herself and a trio consisting of two boys and one girl. The trio caught his attention because the blonde boy with glasses seemed to be bothering the girl while the other larger boy was trying to pull the one with glasses away. At the distance he was at Shinji was able to pick up a couple of words like, 'Pilot,' 'Robot,' and 'Please.' Because the words were coming from the blonde with glasses Shinji knew they were directed at the girl. The words led Shinji to conclude, "So she's the other pilot. Naoko told last night that all three pilots were girls." He looked over at the albino sitting by herself, "And that is Ayanami Rei the First Child." Naoko had told Shinji about her work under his father and told him about Rei. Other than saying Rei was a quite girl Naoko did not have much to say. "Doesn't look like she's changed."

"COME ON TELL ME WHAT IT'S LIKE, PLEASE?" the shout came from the blonde boy at the girl. No one except Shinji paid attention to the shout indicating it was a common occurrence. In Shinji's opinion the boy was being rather pathetic in his pleas.

"KESUKE SHUT UP BEFORE…" the other boy's threat was cut off by the bell ringing.

Not more than fifteen minutes later Shinji was standing outside class A-2. He was told to wait outside until the teacher called him in. From the other side of the door Shinji heard the old teacher say, "Class we have a new student joining us today, Ikari Shinji." Shinji took this as his que to enter the room. When he stepped inside the entire class was focused on him. However two were showing much more interest in him than the others, Ayanami Rei and the girl that was being bothered earlier.

"Considering my father," that thought made his stomach churn with anger, "is the Commander of Nerv that is not at all surprising."

"Please introduce yourself Mr. Ikari," the teacher instructed.

Shinji went up the front of the class gave a slight bow. "Hello I'm Ikari Shinji. I just moved into the city with my Guardian."

"Thank you Mr. Ikari," the teacher said. "Take a seat next to Ms. Hokari." The girl raised her hand showing it was the girl from outside. Shinji nodded and went to take a seat.

Fifteen minutes into class and Shinji was already starting to become very bored. The teacher spoke with a complete monotone voice about the world before Second Impact. Shinji would not have minded as much if this was a History Class, but right now the teacher was suppose to be teaching them language studies. Added to the fact that Shinji already knew the truth about Second Impact it was very difficult to stay focused on the teacher. After the seventh time his eyes glazed over Shinji decided to look around on the local network to pass the time.

As soon as he logged on he got several messages. Most of them were just classmates asking about whom he was and such. Not really wanting to talk about himself he ignored those messages. There were three that caught his attention. One asked 'Are you a knew pilot for the Evas?' Another asked, 'Are you related to Commander Ikari?' and the third asked 'Have you seen this hot woman with purple hair anywhere around?' The only reason he looked at the third message was because of how unusual it was. He answered with a 'No' and the second boy from earlier made an audible groan.

The first messages he answered in order with, 'No' and 'Yes.' The no received a groan from the kid with glasses and the second followed by the Hokari girl next to him looking at his curiously. She turned back to her computer and started typing. Shinji did not give her a chance to send the message and logged out of the Chat Room. He did want to be rude but he did not want to talk about his father even more.

As the day progressed Shinji soon learned that regardless of the Class he was in the teacher would be the same boring guy who would not stop talking about life before Second Impact. So needless to say Shinji thought this day was a big waste of time and could not wait until the day was over. When the dismissal bell finally rang Shinji was one of the many students that let out a relieved sigh. Just as he was about to get up a female voice next to him caught his attention, "Hello I'm Hokari Hikari."

"Hello I'm Ikari Shinji," Shinji greeted out of politeness. He really did not want to talk to the girl because he had a feeling that she wanted to talk about his father.

Shinji was soon proven correct. "I was the one that asked if you were Commander Ikari's son," Hikari stated. She was very unsure what to do at this point. She figured she should get to know the child and maybe find out about the man. The only thing she knew for certain was that he was a very cold and serious man.

"Yes I am," Shinji said with clear anger in his voice. "Look I don't really like the man so don't talk about him."

"I…I'm sorry I didn't know," Hikari said. She looked a mix between frightened, sad and a bit of guilt.

"No, I'm sorry I shouldn't have snapped at you," Shinji said. As silence descended on the pair Shinji started to try and think of ways to get a pleasant conversation going. Just because she worked for the man he hated did not mean he should be mean to her.

That however was taken out of Shinji's hands as another female voice joined the two. "You are the pilot for the Orbital Frame Idalo," the pair turned to see that Rei was the one who spoke.

"Yes I am," Shinji confirmed. He remembered the conversation he had over the weekend with Naoko, Lawrence and the Director.

Flashback

"The UN was impressed with us enough to allow our involvement in the war with the Angles," the Director said. "Once our operations are set up in Tokyo-3 we will be relocated there as our main facility."

"Who will be in charge in fighting the Angles?" Lawrence asked. "I don't want to be under Nerv's command."

"We shall be under our own command unless there is an attack," the Director answered. "Then we will coordinate with Nerv Chief of Operation Captain Katsuragi Misato. Her strategies have proven effective against the Angles so far. She will issue field orders and we will act accordingly, for now at least. Outside of that we are a completely independent and autonomous organization."

"Meaning that Commander Ikari will have no say in what we do," Naoko said. "But then again we will not have any say in what they do either."

"That includes the Magi," Lawrence said. "What if they order the Magi to cut off our power during an Angle attack?"

"You don't think they would actually do that do you?" Shinji asked.

"I doubt most people of Nerv would think of something like that," Naoko assured. "But the Commander might try it. But we don't have to worry about that. I've already taken steps to prevent that. No one knows the Magi like I do, that includes everyone at Nerv put together."

"Shinji you will starting school again once we relocate to Tokyo-3," the Director said. "When you do you will be placed into the same class as the First and Third Child. Do not tell them anything about BAHRAM, but do make an effort to get to know them. For the time being you will fighting along side them, so it would be wise to get to know them."

"Yes Sir," Shinji said.

Flashback End

And you are Ayanami Rei, Pilot of Eva Unit 01," Shinji returned.

"Yes," Rei confirmed.

"You…you're the pilot of that other machine?" Hikari asked and Shinji nodded. "Wow, I hope it's not like that Jet Alone machine. I heard that thing almost exploded."

"I can assure you that won't happen," Shinji replied. He then turned to Rei, "I heard you helped stop the Jet Alone."

"You are correct, Frame Runner Ikari," Rei said.

"You can call me Shinji if you want Ayanami," Shinji offered. "You to Hokari."

"I'll call you Shinji if you call me Hikari," Hikari said with a smile. So far she liked Shinji, he was nothing like his father. He seemed rather nice. She just wondered why Shinji did not want to talk about his relationship with the Commander of Nerv.

Rei did not respond to Shinji's gesture but turned to Hikari, "Pilot Hikari do not forget we have tests this afternoon." She turned and walked away but before she left the room she said, "I look forward to working with you later, Shinji."

After the blue haired girl left Hikari went to follow. "Like Ayanami said I have tests so I have to go. I hope we work well together too."

Unknown to the two girls and boy they were being watched from outside the classroom. "He's only here a day and already he has both Hikari and Ayanami talking to him," the blonde with glasses said. "Hey Toji what do you think they see in him?"

His larger friend Toji was not paying attention. Instead his entire focus was on the new kid in the classroom. For some reason, some would say jealousy, he was rather angry that the kid was talking with Hikari. As Shinji left the room and made his way down the hall Toji finally spoke to his friend, "Come on Kensuke, I want to 'talk' to the new kid."

"Uh oh," was all Kensuke said. He knew that tone of voice anywhere. It was the same voice he had when his sister got hurt in the first Angle Attack. The two reasons Toji did not do anything was because he never hit girls even when he was really angry with them and Ayanami came wrapped in bandages.

By the time the pair took off to catch up with Shinji he was outside the building and heading down the street. Toji tried to catch up with him but by the time he reached the gate Shinji was long gone. He hit his fist into his hand, "Danm I'll get him next time!"

"Worried the new kid is going to steal your girlfriend?" Kensuke joked.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Toji retorted with a blush. "I…I just don't want her being bothered. It'll mess with piloting."

"Sure it will," Kensuke said sarcastically earning him a hit on the head by Toji.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Evangelion is owned by Gainax and ZOE is owned by Konami.

Shinji was flying low over Tokyo-3 outside of the Geofront late in the evening. He was flying around making sure the basic systems were working properly and the best way was to put them in action. As he was flying along he spotted a light close to perimeter of BAHRAM's property. "Idalo, would you please focus on that light source near the fence?" Shinji asked the Combat AI.

"Roger," Idalo answered. A small screen appeared on the H.U.D and zeroed in on the small light. When the image came in to focus Shinji smirked at who it was. "It appears to be an attempted intruder," Idalo said. "Should I inform security of this?"

"No," Shinji said. "I know him from my class. His name is Aida Kensuke and he's harmless just a little obsessive about military hardware."

"Roger," Idalo replied.

At this time Kensuke noticed the Orbital Frame and started yelling, though Shinji did not hear because the outside volume was on mute, and waving frantically at them. Shinji sighed at the gestures anything that had to do with weapons Kensuke would go nuts over and weapons like the Orbital Frames and the Evangelions made him look like he needed to be committed. Just this afternoon he had to be physically restrained from jumping Shinji when somehow it was leaked that he was the Frame Runner for Idalo. Shinji still wondered who could have leaked that news; he would have suspected it was Hikari or Rei. But when Kensuke came running up to him yelling about being a Frame Runner Hikari looked surprised that the glasses wearing boy knew anything and Rei never spoke to anyone unless they spoke first and even then her replies would be only one or two words.

"Shinji," a transmission from Naoko appeared in front of him, "Return to the hanger. All the systems look fine and you need to get some sleep. You'll be on stand-by tomorrow."

"Why will I be on stand-by?" Shinji asked. He was usually on alert status, that meant that he had to be prepared to head to BAHRAM's base of operations anytime during the day. Stand-by meant that he would always be within fifteen minutes, by car, of the base encase an emergency came up.

"Eva Unit 02 is arriving from Germany tomorrow and they are sending Captain Kasuragi and the Third Child to meet it and the Second Child," Naoko answered. "You're being put on Stand-by just incase there is an Angle attack. If there is it will be only you and the First Child around to defeat the Angle. Now come on back we need to get home."

"Yes Ma'am," Shinji replied veering back towards the hanger for the night.

The next day Shinji arrived at school just like always, unlike the previous times however there was a noticeable shadow following him the entire way. The shadow was his transportation back to BAHRAM in the event of an Angle attack. Most of the kids paid no attention to the black sedan parked outside the school and those that did it was only brief curiosity. They were used to unmarked cars showing up because of the First and Third Child attending school here.

When he walked into the classroom Shinji was suspecting Kensuke to try and bombard him with a million questions about Idalo just like he did for the past two days. He was pleasantly surprised to see that neither Kensuke nor Toji were present in the classroom. Toji had some kind of grudge against Shinji and tried to fight him the day before Kensuke found about what Shinji was.

Flashback.

Shinji was just about to leave the school grounds and head back home. Naoko would be working late continuing her programming for the next Sub-Weapons for Idalo. Shinji had nothing to do today and was looking forward to just listening to his music that evening. The day itself was rather uneventful but still rather pleasant, he was getting along with Hikari rather well and he felt he found a pretty good friend in the pigtailed Third Child.

Just as Shinji was about to step out of the gates a hand on his shoulder spun him around. In front of him was Toji cracking his knuckles and Kensuke looking worried for him from behind the jock. Shinji looked around and saw several other people were giving them the same looks Kensuke was, not that Shinji could blame them. On the surface Toji looked like he could seriously hurt him with one punch. Then again no one knew that Shinji was trained to defend himself by an ex-special forces unit.

Before anyone could try to stop him, Toji swung a heavy right cross at Shinji's face. To many people's surprise instead of hitting the ground, Shinji blocked the punch and then twisted Toji's arm and tripped him so Toji was lying face down with his arm pinned behind his back. "Why did you attack me?" Shinji asked.

After the surprise left him, Kensuke was the one that answered, "Sorry about this, Toji's just jealous because he thinks you're hitting on Hikari."

"Oh shut up…OW!" Toji yelled from the ground but when he tried to move he only twisted his arm more making it hurt.

"Shinji!" Hikari called from the back of the crowd that formed. The crowd spread and Hikari came through and was shocked to see Shinji pinning Toji to the ground. The shock quickly turned to anger and she stomped up to the two boys. Shinji quickly let Toji go and backed away, he figured she was going to end their budding friendship because it appeared Shinji started the fight. That thought was proven wrong however when Hikari slapped Toji in the face, "What do you thing you're doing picking a fight with Shinji! He didn't do anything to you, what would your sister think if she heard you were being a bully, huh?" Toji had the decency to looked ashamed as he rubbed his cheek. She let out a heavy sigh, "I don't have time for this I have tests at Nerv, be sure to apologize to him or I'll tell your sister what you did." She turned and walked off but not before giving the jock one last glare.

"Sorry," Toji said lacking any sincerity before he too walked off still rubbing his cheek.

End of Flashback.

Since that day Toji had been giving Shinji subtle glares every now and then. Most figured it was because his pride took a major beating from how easily Shinji beat him and the dressing down Hikari gave him soon afterwards. Shinji just hoped that Toji would give it a rest soon he never liked having people mad at him for any reason.

Half way through the day Shinji's cellular phone started to ring and only a few seconds later Rei's began to ring as well. When Shinji answered the his phone all he received was the Director's voice, "Return to base immediately." Not waiting to be excused Shinji picked up his bag and left the room, Rei followed right after him. The class waited patiently for the Angle Alarm but were surprised and somewhat disappointed that it never went off., after all facing a quick death from an Angle was preferable to a slow one from the boring lectures about Second Impact.

When Shinji arrived at BAHRAM's base Lawrence immediately met him at the entrance. "Suit up Shinji the convoy transporting Unit 02 is being attacked by an Angle," Lawrence informed. "We're sending you out to meet them and rendering assistance."

"Yes Sir," Shinji replied. His mind already entering its Combat Mode for the upcoming battle.

No more than five minutes later Shinji was already in the air heading out to sea. "Shinji, according to the distress call the Angle has already sunk at least two ships," Lawrence said. "They are endangering with Unit 02 but because the Angle is attacking from underwater so they are having difficulty."

"If it is attacking underwater we will not be of much help," Shinji replied.

"The transmission said Captain Katsuragi said she has an idea on how to destroy the Angle but she will need Idalo's weaponry to accomplish it," Lawrence reported. "That is why you are being sent out, when you arrive you will be under her command and will follow her instructions."

"Yes Sir," Shinji said. "Idalo remove the limiters on the thrusters we must arrive at the battle sight as soon as possible."

"Roger," Idalo replied. As the Orbital Frame left Tokyo-3 City Limits the Ion Thrusters began to produce high amounts of energy accelerating Idalo to its maximum speed.

Off the coast Japan the American Pacific Fleet was being decimated by the by the Sixth Angle. Six hours ago Captain Katsuragi arrived with the Third Child Hikari and her friends Kensuke and Toji. She had brought the two boys along because Hikari was still nervous about being an Eva Pilot, especially after she had to block the particle beam from the Fifth Angle. The two boys were here to try and relax Hikari and for the most part it work. The only real problems that happened were rather minor, the Admiral of the Pacific Fleet refusing to hand over Unit Two, the initial meeting between the Second Child Soryu Asuka Langley and Toji and of course the meeting of her old flame Ryoji Kaji the Asuka's guardian during her training in Germany.

With attack of the Sixth Angle everything wend down the drain in a matter of minutes. Asuka activated Unit 02 with Hikari inside as well and tried to engage the Angle. The problem was with only the standard equipment and Hikari messing up the harmonics between Eva and Pilot, the Angle quickly overpowered the Eva. Now the Angle had the Eva's arm locked in its jaws under the water. The only up side to this was that Misato had a plan, all she had to do was wait for Nerv's new partner BAHRAM's weapon to show up. "When the hell is that thing going to get here?" Misato asked herself silently.

"Misato I can't reach the Core!" Asuka yelled over the radio.

"Hang on you two! We're waiting for back up to arrive," Misato answered. "I have a plan to hit the Core and kill the Angel but it won't work until help gets here!"

While the conversation was going on Hikari was hanging on for deer life thinking, "What was I thinking climbing in here? I have no place on the front line I just learned to move Unit 00 a few weeks ago. Please someone help us!"

After hearing Misato's reply Asuka became angry. One thing she hated more than anything else in the world was relying on someone else. "I don't need any…" The radar operator cut off Asuka's objection.

"Unidentified Aircraft approaching from the Southwest, estimated speed…" the radar operator paused for the calculation, "Mach 5!"

"Mach 5?" everyone asked at the same time.

Just as Misato was about to question what the object was the voice of the radio operator came in, "Call from the flight deck! One of the transports is requesting permission to leave!"

"What?" Misato yelled. "Who's trying to leave in the middle of a fight?"

"That would be me, Misato," Kaji answered. "Sorry to leave like this but I've got a delivery to make and I can't afford the risk of dieing."

"Kaji you coward get back here!" Misato yelled.

"Good luck!" Kaji said getting into the transport. Without even waiting for permission the pilot launched off the flight deck and away from danger. When they were half way passed the outer fleet ships a bluish-green glow flashed by the transport. Kaji turned and looked out the window and saw the glowing object slow down. "So that's what has the Old Men so nervous. Wonder how it'll do in real combat?"

Out at sea Shinji and Idalo were fast approaching the Pacific Fleet. As Shinji approached Idalo warned him, "High energy reading detected just below the surface of the ocean. Energy patterns consistent with those of detected by those of the previous three Angles."

"So the Angle is down there?" Shinji asked.

"Affirmative," Idalo answered. "Transmission coming in from the Super Carrier Over the Rainbow."

"Put it through," Shinji instructed.

"Roger," Idalo complied.

"Unidentified Aircraft you have entered a highly dangerous combat zone," the transmission said. "Identify yourself immediately."

"This is the Orbital Frame Idalo," Shinji responded. "I am here because of the distress signal the Director of Operations of Nerv sent out for our assistance."

"All right Shinji here's the situation," Misato took over. "Unit 02's arm is pinned inside the Angles mouth and is currently under the water. The Core is at the back of the mouth and Unit 02 can't reach that far. The plan is to have Unit 02 open the Angle's mouth wide enough for you to destroy the core."

"Idalo cannot operate under water," Shinji said. His voice was surprisingly calm to those listening in. They were not aware of his mindset in dealing with combat.

"The Angle surfaces every ten minutes or so," Misato replied. "The problem is that it does not stay up for more than a few seconds."

"With Unit 02 at the mouth I'll have to get in close in order to avoid hitting it," Shinji said.

"Asuka, Hikari you get that?" Misato asked.

"Yes," both girls asked.

"Ok when the Angle starts to surface you two have to force the Angle's mouth open, Shinji and Idalo will do the rest," Misato instructed.

"The Angle is approaching the surface!" the sonar operator warned. "Time to surface fifteen seconds!"

"Asuka, Hikari force the mouth open!" Misato yelled.

Inside Unit 02 the Second and Third Child were trying to force the mouth open. The problem was the Eva seemed to lack the strength to accomplish the goal. "It's not working!" Asuka yelled. "Come on open up!"

"Open up! Open up! Open up! Open Up! OPEN UP!" Hikari yelled in her mind at the same time Asuka did. That result of the combined will seem to force extra strength out of the Eva just as the Angle broke the surface.

"Shinji do it now!" Misato order.

"Yes Ma'am," Shinji replied. Because he could not get a lock on the Core at long range Shinji was forced to fly Idalo down past Unit 02 into the back of the mouth of the Angle. As he approached the blade on the Orbital Frame's arm swung into place glowing with plasma energy. As he dove at the red sphere the Ion Thrusters pulsed resulting in Shinji stabbing the Core at close to the speed of sound. Needless to say the Core was destroyed on the first attempt.

"High Energy Signal has gone silent," Idalo reported. "The target appears to be neutralized."

"No movement from detected," the sonar operator confirmed. "I think it's dead." There was caution in his voice as well as hope.

"Shinji did you destroy the Core?" Misato asked. She had to be sure the Angel was dead in order to stand down from combat status.

"The Angle is starting to sink," Idalo reported at the same time Misato spoke.

"Yes the Core is destroyed," Shinji confirmed as he spun the Orbital Frame around and flew out the mouth just as the Angle's carcass began to sink beneath surface of the ocean.

Seeing the much smaller mecha zip by them and the fact that they could feel the descent of the Eva caused Asuka to kick off the Angle. With a mighty leap out of the water she landed into a crouched position on the Super Aircraft Carrier causing the bow of the ship to dip half way into the water and rise up again.

Once the ship stopped bobbing up and down Shinji radioed the bridge, "Permission to land Ma'am, I wish to make sure there was not significant damage to Idalo."

"Permission granted Shinji," Misato replied. "And call me Misato, 'Ma'am' makes me sound old."

A few minutes later the crew of the Over the Rainbow was helping remove the Entry Plug from Unit Two. When the two Eva Pilots stepped out of the LCL the girls noticed a ring of sailors looking at the Orbital Frame. They also noticed Kensuke jumping up and down behind them trying to get a good look at the machine. "Doesn't look like much," Asuka thought. Her pride took a large blow because not only did she need help in destroying the Angle but also the help came from something that only came up to an Eva's shin.

After getting her bearings straight Hikari made her way over to the ring of sailors. "Excuse me could I get through?" she asked. The sailors looked at the girl for a moment and then parted. They knew that they owed their lives to the kids and gave them a great deal of respect. It was not everyday three young teenagers do what veteran soldiers could not.

When Hikari was close enough she heard Shinji talking, "Looks like you were right Idalo the only damage was superficial."

"Confirmed," the Combat AI replied. "Beginning repair sequences."

"Shinji," Hikari said catching the attention of the Frame Runner. "I…I just wanted to say thank you for…coming when you did."

"Um…ah…You're welcome Hikari," Shinji replied with a slight blush as he had never received thanks from anyone his own age before. "I…it was my pleasure."

"HEY COME ON LET ME SEE!" Kensuke yelled intrusting the awkward situation and causing the several people to laugh off some of the tension left over from the battle.

Hours later in Gendo's office the Commander of Nerv was receiving the package that Kaji left the battle for. "So this is it, the First Angle, Adam," Kaji said.

"Correct," Gendo replied.

"Hard to believe that this thing caused Second Impact," Kaji commented. "Seems rather harmless as an embryo doesn't?"

Gendo did not answer. Instead he switched subjects, "What is you're opinion on the Orbital Frame?"

"It can pack a hell of a punch," Kaji answered. "It's not hard to see why SEELE is so nervous about it."

Gendo remained silent for several minutes before speaking again, "I want you to find out as much as you can about BAHRAM and their weapons and personnel and report your findings to me and only me."

"Already moving against the Old Men I see," Kaji thought. "Sure I'll start poking around see what I can dig up, kind of sounds like fun actually." Soon after he left the Commanders' Office he asked himself, "So which side do you want to be on now Kaji; SEELE, Nerv, BAHRAM or your own?"


End file.
